Anne Taintor is a company known for its witty, and often sarcastic, products featuring vintage images with clever sayings. We’ve carried Anne Taintor’s magnets and notepads in our shop for many years, and know that there is a loyal following for their products. We recently got a letter from Anne Taintor, Inc. stating that they… Read More


In Praise of Chocolate    When the line of customers got a bit long this holiday season, I grabbed a handful of gold chocolate coins and gave one to each shopper with a sincere apology for the wait.  No matter how harried they were, all the customers smiled at this unexpected treat.  And I like to… Read More


Retailers react differently than others to movies like You’ve Got Mail (you did cry during the scene when Meg Ryan’s shop closed, didn’t you?) and plays like A Christmas Carol.  Every year I am moved by the contrast between Scrooge and his early employer, Fezziwig — and reminded about the importance of being  a good… Read More


The new year doesn’t bring good news for those of us who have gotten used to promoting our shops to existing customers for free through Facebook.  We’ve already seen a decline in the number of organic views each post gets, and in fact our store’s 2,500+ “likes” sometimes translates into as few as 22 people… Read More


Is it time to UP your UVP? Those of us who don’t spent most of our time in the world of marketing might not recognize that UVP stands for Unique Value Proposition — in other words, what your business offers that is unique and is of value to your target customers.  Olga Mizrahi is a… Read More


When you see a customer looking intently studying their smartphone while in your store, you may assume that the shopper is “showrooming” — taking advantage of your shop to look at merchandise before ordering it online. But according to the consulting firm Deloitte and Accenture, recent research shows that nearly 70 percent of shoppers “webroom"… Read More


“We know you have a choice of airlines when you fly, and we appreciate you flying with us” has become a bit trite through repetition, but the truth in that statement is timeless: customers have countless choices as to where they can spend their dollars, and we need to let them know how much we… Read More


Imagine that you are a traveler looking to buy a neck pillow for your overseas flight. The airport shop has a nice selection (even for those who don’t find a monkey quite their style). And they’re only $10 each!  But no — if you only need one, which for most of us is the case,… Read More


Our fall staff meeting was this evening, and it was so nice to gather  everyone together and get psyched for the holiday season. We provided a light dinner (and one of our employees baked a carrot cake for my husband Dean’s birthday). After some time socializing, and a few general announcements, I asked several employees… Read More


APPLE PAY The iPhone has been conspicuously absent from the smartphones offering “mobile wallet” options due to its lack of NFC (near-field communication) ability. But Apple may have just been waiting to roll out Apple Pay, its own version of the mobile wallet which made its debut on October 20. The new iPhone 6 and… Read More